Hello to all friends and colleagues,
I live on the Broad River in Western North Carolina (WNC), just downstream of the towns of Chimney Rock and Lake Lure and the Lake Lure dam.
The town of Chimney Rock has been virtually wiped off the map by the Broad River, Lake Lure is nearly destroyed and will take a very long time to recover, and the dam, already on a list of some of the country’s most vulnerable infrastructure, is under emergency repair. That the dam held at all is a miracle; I evacuated early as the waters began to rise but some on my street were not able and had to be rescued by boat or survived only by climbing the ridge with trees falling all around and mudslides threatening their lives as the terrifying hours went on.
This photo is of me emerging from working on my cabin’s crawlspace which took some water - not from the river, which rose 30 feet and stopped 2 ft from my foundation - but from the shutdown of the pump managing runoff when the power failed. I am tremendously fortunate. Every other house on the street took significant damage or was completely inundated, a condition repeated a thousand-fold (or worse) throughout Western North Carolina. The flooding, which is still ongoing in Asheville and elsewhere, is beyond historic. Current estimates are over $125B in damages across 10 states and likely to go much higher. Many towns throughout the mountains share Chimney Rock’s tragic fate.
I am without power, water, cell service or internet, and have driven out some miles to find signal to post this, but I am blessed. I am safe and well-provisioned.
As you may have guessed I am writing this because the people of WNC need your help, your compassion, and your generosity. The aerospace community in the US is one of the most well educated and most well off financially in the country and indeed the world. It is made up of caring people.
The region will take years to recover but RIGHT NOW is the immediate crisis. Many are asking how they can help.
Here are the two most effective, boots-on-the-ground organizations right now:
* nc.gov/donate; all funds go to United Way here in WNC, which is running shelters and setting up water and food distribution centers.
* redcross.org/donate/; the American Red Cross, where you can specify the donation is for WNC. They are in close coordination with FEMA and the State of North Carolina.
Thank you for reading, for caring, for sharing, and for giving what you can.